Deandre Ayton fits with LeBron, Luka and the Lakers on the court. Will that be
enough?
https://reurl.cc/axlZ47
湖人记者Dan Woike撰文谈到球队新援Deandre Ayton，原文很长以下节录部分
On paper, Ayton makes the Lakers better. He’s the kind of talent that could c
onvince LeBron James the Lakers are for real about competing for a title and t
he kind of weapon that has Doncic excited about the partnership.
在纸面上，Ayton的加盟让湖人变得更强。他是一位有实力的球员，足以让LBJ相信球队真
的有意争夺总冠军，同时也是一个能让77对未来搭档感到兴奋的武器。
But basketball isn’t a sport played on paper. It’s 48 minutes on the court t
hat come after hours inside the practice facility, on training tables, in airp
lanes and in film sessions. The best teams make plays on the court because the
y limit their mistakes off them.
但篮球不是在纸上打的比赛。这是一场场48分钟的比赛，而这些比赛之前，是无数个小时
的训练、治疗、飞行以及战术影片分析。最好的球队之所以能在场上完成高水准的表现，
是因为他们在场下把错误降到最低。
And with that in mind, it’s reasonable to remember how the Lakers managed to
get Ayton on their roster in the first place.
也正因如此，值得回顾一下湖人究竟是如何将Ayton招致麾下的。
Entering this offseason with the sort of parallel goals of improving last year
’s team while also keeping enough flexibility to build out the best possible
roster for Doncic moving forward, Ayton’s signing somehow accomplishes both.
It does so, of course, because Portland is paying Ayton $26 million-ish to pla
y against the Trail Blazers (and to do so for a franchise its fans hate).
这个休赛季，湖人同时肩负两个目标：一方面要改善上赛季的阵容，另一方面也要保留足
够的弹性，为77打造未来最佳阵容。而签下Ayton，某种程度上同时实现了这两个目标。
这之所以成为可能，是因为波特兰正在支付Ayton约 26M的薪水，让他来对抗拓荒者（并
且为一支拓荒者球迷深恶痛绝的球队效力）。
Ayton was only ever in Portland to begin with because the Suns also didn’t wa
nt him as part of their plans and were happy to swap him out for Jusuf Nurkic.
The Athletic’s Jason Quick detailed the ways Ayton failed to meet Portland’
s standards after his buyout from the Trail Blazers. And in Los Angeles, the s
potlight is going to be brighter and the stakes are going to be higher.
当初Ayton之所以出现在波特兰，是因为太阳不再将他纳入未来规划，乐意将他换成Jusuf
Nurkic。《The Athletic》的记者Jason Quick 曾详细描述了Ayton在与拓荒者买断后，
是如何未能达到球队的期待。而在洛杉矶，镁光灯会更加耀眼，压力也会更大。
But while timing isn’t everything — it’s close. And the Lakers might be get
ting Ayton at the perfect time. Doncic has already trimmed down ahead of EuroB
asket, a massive chip on his shoulder after having his work ethic and commitme
nt questioned after his trade to the Lakers. Austin Reaves is entering the mos
t important season of his career, a massive contract in unrestricted free agen
cy at stake. And James, who turns 41 in December, has made it clear that he ha
s no time to wait.
不过，尽管时机并非一切——但它几乎就是一切。而湖人也许正好在最完美的时间点得到
Ayton。77在欧洲篮球锦标赛前已经瘦身，带着巨大的斗志迎接新挑战——他的职业态度
和投入程度曾在他被交易至湖人后受到质疑。Austin Reaves也正处于他职业生涯最关键
的一季，因为他将在明年夏天成为不受限制的自由球员，有望争取一份大合约。而LBJ—
—今年 12 月就满 41 岁——已经明言他无法再等待。
For Ayton, who turns 27 at the end of July, the opportunity to re-establish hi
mself couldn’t be more clear. While his contract with the Lakers has a second
-year player option, no one involved wants him to exercise it — the hope bein
g that he far outplays that $8 million valuation and commands way more next su
mmer.
对于即将在 7 月底年满 27 岁的Ayton而言，重塑自我的机会再明确不过了。尽管他与湖
人的合约中包含第二年的球员选项，但双方其实都希望他不会执行——理想的情况是他打
出远超 800 万美元价值的表现，并在明年夏天争取更大合约。
Team sources believe the Lakers have the right coaching staff to make that hap
pen. In JJ Redick, they have a deadly serious head coach who also understands
how to relate to players. Assistant Scott Brooks worked with Ayton in Portland
two years ago, and Nate McMillan has either played or coached with or against
virtually every personality type the NBA’s ever concocted. And if not, the L
akers have maintained their flexibility for next summer and beyond.
球队内部消息人士相信，湖人现在有合适的教练团来帮助Ayton做到这一点。总教练JJ Re
dick是一位极具认真态度的教练，也能够与球员产生共鸣。助理教练 Scott Brooks曾在
两年前于波特兰与Ayton共事，Nate McMillan 更是无论球员或教练生涯，都与各式各样
的 NBA 人物交手过。如果还有他没接触过的性格类型，那也不多了。而即使事情不如预
期发展，湖人也保有明年夏天及未来的弹性空间。
The Lakers weren’t going to do better this summer than Deandre Ayton, not wit
h what was on the market, not with the little they had to offer. If you polled
29 other general managers about whether they’d rather trade a first-round pi
ck for Nic Claxton or if they’d rather pay Ayton $8 million, we can be pretty
confident in the answer.
考虑到今年夏天的市场和湖人能动用的资源，他们不可能找到比Ayton更好的选择。如果
你去问其他 29 支球队的总经理，他们是愿意为Nic Claxton送出一个首轮选秀权，还是
愿意花8M签下Ayton，我们大概可以猜到大多数人会怎么选。
And if there was hesitation, it wouldn’t be because of the stuff on the court
. It would be concerns about the culture, the fit, the commitment, the underst
anding about the required sacrifices that need to be made in order to win at t
he highest level.
而如果有人会犹豫，那原因也不会是球场上的表现，而是文化契合度、是否适合团队、是
否愿意为胜利做出必要的牺牲等问题。
In Los Angeles, Ayton will have a chance to prove that he’s an absolute barga
in. But the points and the rebounds aren’t going to be the real way to evalua
te that.
在洛杉矶，Ayton将有机会证明自己是一笔物超所值的投资。但评价他的标准，不会只是
场上的得分和篮板数据。
It’ll happen more in the shadows, in those meetings and on those planes and i
n the training room. If the Lakers get the best of Ayton there, they’ll see t
he impact in another number, the most important one.
真正的关键，将在那些不为人知的时刻：球队会议、飞行途中、训练室内。如果湖人能在
这些地方看到一个最佳状态的Ayton，他们就会在最重要的一个数字上看到成果。
They’ll see it in the win column.
他们会在胜场数上看到变化。
短评或心得：
给JJ调一下